Off Grid Farm
Taking inspiration from other larger sized housing within the Dominican Republic, the aesthetic chosen reflects the Hispanic culture, while utilization of common/local materials such as CMU Blocks, corrugated sheet metal, clay tiles, and lumber from local trees was used to lessen the impact on transportation and material fabrication of carbon emissions. The strategy for passive cooling uses weather data to find climate and wind patterns to provide passive ventilation in all the residencies. Another strategy is incorporate aquifers into the flooring to allow cooling by water. Water used in this process is taken from a water storage that accumulate the rainwater via the gutter system. There are PCV panels used for electrical generation, with the addition of a storage battery in the case of cloudy days. The panels are mounted to the barn/shed roof facing the South side to receive the majority of the days sun and on average can produce 240Kilowatts-hour on a good day. The main house ADA accessibility through the garage.
To the east of the main house, connect via colonnade is the guest house, matching the aesthetic of the main house complementing the design. Keeping slight distance from the main house provides privacy. The guest house has ADA accessibility ramp on the south east side.
On the west side, another colonnade path leads to the barn/feed storage area/ workshop. There are animal stalls present for animal sheltering whether for horses to trot through the fields, or oxen to help pull or plow. An extended overhang is added in case there is a need to store larger mobile equipment. The structure itself is constructed on a lighter frame, taking advantage of reclaimed and local lumber.
Between the main house and the worker houses there are a few lines of cocoa and plantation trees leading further down to a larger orchard. Aside from the use produce, they function as a nice privacy buffer between the residencies. The workers’ houses provide a bit more than the guest house by including larger space for their family and their own laundry room.
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